Thursday, April 22, 2010

I will be performing at the OK Children's Fest this year. They asked me to share what inspires me to write music. Over the years many parents of young Music with Marnie Fans have asked me the same question.

Whenever I write music for children, I simply jump into the life of a child and write about the things they like – puddles, firefighters, ladybugs, and more.I always feel that children learn through play!I’ve never been one for writing moralistic songs, but instead I take what they like and make it fun.... and in turn - educational! Children are my biggest inspiration; just spending time with them I can see what really makes them shine!

The band plays everything from disco to reggae and rock. The short and simple songs are usually composed by me.They often become the favourite of little ones, as they love the repetition and silliness and perhaps the least favourite of parents as they can’t get the songs out of their heads. ;-) My band deserves a lot of credit for creating melodies that the parents can groove to.For example, I often come with a stack of lyrics and say, ‘I’d like this song to have a punk sound and this to have a reggae sound,’ etc., and within minutes they’ll create what I want and more.Other times I will sit with Eduardo, my drummer, and he and I will work out tunes together.He’s been with me for 10 years as a band member and as the engineer and co-producer of my 3 albums and my upcoming album.

One last person to thank for my music and for the lyrics is my husband, Kevin.Many times he’s spontaneously written a song for me.If I remember correctly, I Yi Yippee was written when I stubbed my toe.He just happened to be playing the guitar and started to sing a silly response to me as I was holding my toe and yelping.Like a child, I soon forgot about the pain and he and I sat down and completed the tune.

The last thing, with almost each and every song, is including actions!Before I even sang to children, I always marvelled at the reaction children had to any kind of music – they just naturally wanted to move - because of this, I incorporated actions into most of our songs! Back in the 1990’s, many children and parents were having fun moving and grooving to my music. This was looong before the big push for TV shows and schools to get children physical!To me it just made sense – if children want to move – let them move and have fun doing it!At our shows, there’s no pressure for kids to boogie, but if they want to, the opportunity is there!Music and movement is not only beneficial to children’s physical and mental health but at a Music with Marnie Show it is welcomed full heartedly!

So there you go … that’s how it’s done and it’s working out great --- I think it will only continue that way and hopefully get better and better each time!

It’s a fun and fulfilling path and with thanks to the children and my fabulous band members - the success and joy continues to overflow.

Listen to my music or watch some great educational videos with your child on my interactive children’s website www.MusicwithMarnie.com – It’s a Whole World of Child’s PLAY with Yoga for Children, Music for Children, Sign Language for Children and More!Many videos can be viewed for free and downloaded for less than $2.

Friday, April 2, 2010

It's been a few years of traveling back and forth between LA and Vancouver --- topped with almost 5 months in India! I have to say, that the last 2.5 years have been an incredible journey, and I cannot deny that living in the warmth of California is definitely great ... BUT ... of anywhere I have been, I realized that Vancouver is the best city of all!

INDIA!NEVER have I been to a place that has taught me so much about life. Wherever you go, there is a consistent order in the chaos. In the cities, traffic is like I have never seen before. Driving the wrong way down a one way street occurs every few minutes, on every one way street. Three to four rows of cars on a two lane freeway is just as common. Honking in India is very common too, but not because people are angry, but just to let you know they're going to pass you. In fact, India is the only place in the world that I'm aware of, that has the words "Please Honk" written on the back of about 90% of their trucks. Amazingly, amidst all the craziness, things seem to flow so beautifully in India! I believe there's probably less traffic accidents there because the people are more relaxed and the rules are more relaxed. Cars flow in and out quite gracefully through the chaos. People are asleep or awake, at all different hours of the day and overall the people I met seem to live from a very relaxed and easy-going 'space' - a true peace or calmness amongst the wildness! Yes, India is quite a country - I truly think that everyone should experience it just once before they die, or as they would say in India 'before they leave the body.'

Soooo.... I'm back in Vancouver! Yay! And if you read the article I wrote for the Observer, you'll see how much I'm enjoying it!

We're back in our home again and well ... we're selling it. We're getting it freshened up and ready for viewing in the next couple of weeks. We spent 5 years renovating our old character house and then rented it out for the last two years as we traveled and well... if it sells - someone will be getting a beautiful home and if it doesn't ... then we have a great place to live!

I'm delighted to announce that I will be teaching Music with Marnie Summer Camps again. They're listed on my site www.MusicwithMarnie.com under Upcoming Shows.

Music with Marnie Concerts are in the works and videos are still being edited and added to my site too, so 'life' is back to 'normal' and things seem to be flowing nicely - kind of like the traffic in India!

All in all, it was great to be away BUT it's even great'ER to be home!

I can't wait to see you all really soon! If you have any stories or experiences to share about your travels or recent happening's, please share them on my blog! I'm sure others would love to hear about your fun experiences just as much as I would!

Okay, I must sign off now ... back to painting, gardening and ughhhh ... TAXES .... back to life... back to reality!

Take care and see you soon (yay)!

xx/Marnie

Photo Above is some cows on the beach in Goa! Every day on every beach we saw at least one cow, and one evening we even saw a bull and a cow in a restaurant .... I tell ya, India is amazing! I could write so much more... but I'll give you a break ;)

About Music with Marnie

Music with Marnie Receives 2 Gold Awards in 2012 for for ‘Best Music Classes” & ‘Best Children’s Music Performer,’ in West Coast Families Readers Choice Awards!
Marnie Grey is a Vancouver, Canada based Children’s Entertainer, with four Award Winning CD’s, consecutive sell out shows and incredibly popular Music Classes.
LIVE PERFORMANCES & TOURS – Described as one of the ‘Best Performers of her generation’, by the Vancouver Int. Children’s Fest; Marnie and her Rock n’ Roll Band, work as a team to captivate their audiences and deliver stimulating, high-energy performances that involve children mentally, physically and emotionally.
MUSIC WITH MARNIE CLASSES – Marnie’s years of Early Childhood expertise, high energy enthusiasm and all out magnetic personality inspires children to get up on their feet and boogie to the beat. Her philosophy is that children learn through PLAY - while pretending to be birds, elephants or simply clapping, children will have fun and learn along the way. Marnie's classes and music teach simple rhythms, develop confidence and allow children to express themselves musically and creatively all while moving and grooving and having FUN!